Flowerbell's Love Triangle/Part 3
Meanwhile, inside the Imaginarium, Papa Smurf was in a forest setting, having a picnic with the Imaginarium-created version of his wife Lillithina. He tried to enjoy the privacy of her company, but there was just something on his mind. "What's wrong, my dear?" Lillithina asked, sounding concerned. "I thought you would be happy spending some time with me away from the village." "It's not your fault, Lilly," Papa Smurf said. "There's just someone on my mind that I haven't smurfed in years that I smurfed in love with. I don't want to dishonor your memory or anything, but she made me feel like a young Smurf again." "You shouldn't feel guilty if your heart has been smurfed to someone else now that I'm gone, Cully," Lillithina said. "I have smurfed you the best years that we could ever possibly have together when we were still smurfing. I'm not going to be jealous about this other person who's smurfing after your heart." "I feel so unsmurfy longing for her after he's broken my heart, Lilly," Papa Smurf said. "I should have just forgotten about her and smurfed on, but every time I think of her, she just makes me wish that I could smurf on to her longer." "You will find someone else in your life that will love you as much as I have, dear," Lillithina said as she leaned close to his face. "I'll still be here in your memories for as long as you need me to." Papa Smurf smiled at that thought as he leaned his face toward Lillithina's and kissed. Then suddenly, a voice spoke: "Papa Smurf, another Smurf has entered your fantasy setting. It is Empath." Papa Smurf sighed. "I'm going to have to smurf back to this setting later, my sweetie," he said to Lillithina. "I have an important thing in the village that needs my attention to smurf." "I understand, Cully," Lillithina said, smiling as she watched Papa Smurf get up from the picnic blanket that they were both lying down upon. "Imaginarium, end fantasy setting," Papa Smurf ordered. Instantly, the fantasy setting disappeared, bringing him back to reality to face his son Empath. "This smurf apologizes for disturbing you on your day off, Papa Smurf, but there is an important emergency that requires your attention...a certain someone that needs to see you," Empath reported. Papa Smurf nodded as he noticed the look on Empath's face. "I might as well see what's so important that this someone needs to smurf me in person for," he said as he picked up his walking stick from the floor and walked out of the Imaginarium with Empath. ----- Polaris was still standing in the same spot with Flowerbell when Empath returned with Papa Smurf. "Oh, Pops!" she cried out as she quickly rushed toward him and gave him a big hug and a smooch on the cheek. "Flowerbell!" Papa Smurf exclaimed as he looked at her. "I didn't expect you to return after all these years." "I didn't expect that I would need to return here after the wedding," Flowerbell said. "There's something important that I need to tell you." "You already said what you needed to tell me years ago," Papa Smurf said. "I don't understand what else you need to tell me now." "I can't tell you in front of all these people," Flowerbell said as she looked around. "Is there someplace private we can go to discuss this?" "We can both go into the Imaginarium together," Papa Smurf suggested. "I don't think anyone else will disturb us as long as it's just the two of us." Flowerbell exhaled. "At least you still know how to treat a woman, Pops." Empath and Polaris both watched as Papa Smurf and Flowerbell headed in the direction of the Imaginarium. "Were you able to read her mind and figure out just what it is that she wanted to tell Papa Smurf in private, Polaris?" Empath asked discreetly. "Unfortunately this one was not able to read her mind, Empath, but from what this one was sensing from her emotions, there's a fear of somebody coming after her that she's trying to escape from," Polaris answered. "Somebody is pursuing her?" Empath said. "It was probably wise of her not to let anybody else know who her pursuant is, that we do not endanger anybody else in the village, if he happens to be dangerous." "Could it possibly be this Lord Balthazar who had captured her previously and used her for his own ends that is now after her again?" Polaris asked. "Who knows if it's someone else whom she has crossed paths with recently, Polaris?" Empath answered. "For now, though, we'd better watch over her to make sure whoever's after her doesn't get his hands on her." "This one understands and acknowledges, Empath," Polaris responded. ----- "Imaginarium, smurf us to the forest scene, no other characters in it," Papa Smurf said as soon as he and Flowerbell entered the room with the crystals in it. The room immediately changed to a scene similar to the one Papa Smurf was in earlier, except that there were two small mushrooms instead of a picnic blanket. "You sure do set the mood for the discussion," Flowerbell said as she sat down on one of the two mushrooms and Papa Smurf sat on the other. "Well, here's the deal, and I want you to hear me out...I need to get married." "Married?" Papa Smurf asked, stunned by how sudden the proposal was made. "You mean to me? But why me? Why now?" "I know it's so sudden for me to ask you this, but you have always been on my mind since we first met several years ago, and you were willing to give up your freedom to save me," Flowerbell said. "I don't remember smurfing up anything for you, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said. "You had Balthazar waiting in the forest to capture me. I had no idea what you were up to until you smurfed me out there on the day of our wedding." "I know, and I'm sorry about that," Flowerbell said. "If I hadn't fulfilled my end of the bargain to Balthazar, he would never have let me go. But I couldn't let you be left there all alone in that evil man's hands. I had to do something, and I had only your little Smurfs to help me do it." "And so you rescued me, and for that I'm grateful that you smurfed to your senses," Papa Smurf said. "That still doesn't make what you smurfed to me less painful to bear." "But you still allowed me to attend Woody and Laconia's wedding, so you must still have a thing for me," Flowerbell said. "I do not have a thing for you!" Papa Smurf said insistently. "I allowed you to come only because I was being a friend to you, and because Smurfette still cares for you." "You were just being a friend?" Flowerbell said in disbelief. "I don't believe you for a minute. Deep down you know that I'm the only one who still thinks you're an attractive Smurf, and that you're someone who truly cares for me." "You have your freedom now...you could have smurfed anywhere you want to, but you smurfed here for a reason, and I want to know just what that reason is," Papa Smurf demanded. Flowerbell sighed. "I came to you because I'm being pursued by somebody who wants me to marry him. And the thing is, I don't love him...not since he wanted to marry me for...his own reasons," she replied. "Someone is after you?" Papa Smurf asked, sounding a bit concerned. "But who is it that wants you to marry him? And what does he want you for?" "He's some imp who claims to be after an ancient treasure, who was wearing these golden shoes on his feet," Flowerbell answered. "I felt sorry for him when he got trapped in a rope snare, and so I helped him get free of those shoes, and he started falling in love with me. I didn't ask him a lot of questions, but he ended up telling me, and I started feeling like I was being used by him." "I have a feeling that I may know this imp whom you're smurfing about, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said, stroking his beard as he was trying to think of who the woodnymph was talking about. "If it will make you feel safe, I will have my Smurfs look after you and you can stay with Smurfette until we find out how we can smurf you out of this predicament." "You mean...you're going to marry me?" Flowerbell asked, sounding as if that's what he meant. "That's not what I was going to say," Papa Smurf said. "We're going to find out what this imp wants with you and then find out how we can satisfy his demands without either of us being smurfed together." "I promise you that he's not going to be easy to get rid of, Pops," Flowerbell said. "We'll see about that, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said. ----- Hefty was leading the team of Smurfs back into the village with the haul of berries they have picked. "We should have enough berries for all the pies, jams, and desserts that Greedy wants to smurf with," Hefty said as he and Smurfette walked together. "Something tells me that Flowerbell is in danger and that somebody must be after her, Hefty," Smurfette said. "But who would it be this time, Smurfette?" Hefty asked. "Lord Balthazar?" "I really don't know who it would be, Hefty, but I don't want to see her get smurfed by whatever it is that's after her," Smurfette answered. "Smurfette, don't you remember how she tricked Papa Smurf into wanting to marry her the last time she was here...before Laconia's wedding?" Hefty said. "I know what she did, but I also know she didn't mean to hurt Papa Smurf, Hefty," Smurfette said. "I don't think that's what she's after now." "I still don't trust her, Smurfette, and I want to make sure you don't get smurfed by anything she tries to smurf to any of us," Hefty said. "Hello there, my dear," a familiar voice spoke. Hefty and Smurfette stopped as a green-skinned red-haired imp with a beard suddenly appeared before the two Smurfs. "Remember me from the last time I was in your life?" "That troll again!" Hefty said in disgust. "How did you escape those dancing shoes Papa Smurf cast on you?" "I'm am imp, not a troll, you knucklehead, and the name is Avarice," the imp said, sounding rather offended. "As for how I escaped those shoes, let's just say I had a little helper come along to get me out, and I'm just wondering where that little helper went." "Little helper?" Hefty said. "We don't know who it is you're talking about, imp." "And we're not going to let you know if we've seen whoever it is you're looking for either," Smurfette insisted. "Oh, I will find out, and when I do, we're going to go on our little honeymoon together...to get my hands on the Treasure of the Ancient Trolls," Avarice said, laughing maniacally before he just disappeared before their eyes. "You think this imp could be looking for Flowerbell, Smurfette?" Hefty asked after the imp disappeared. "I don't know, but it just makes me want to protect her from him regardless of what he wants," Smurfette answered. ----- Tapper and Duncan showed up where Empath and Polaris were standing together in the village. "Something in my spirit told me that we have a visitor in our village who's smurfing for asylum here for unknown reasons, my good Empath," Tapper said. "You are correct in that statement, Tapper," Polaris said. "Her name is Flowerbell, and Polaris was sensing from her that somebody was after her for some malicious intent," Empath explained. "Michty me, who could be smurfing after the lavender lassie?" Duncan asked. "That's what Flowerbell wanted to talk to Papa Smurf alone about, Duncan," Empath answered. "If this woodnymph is in danger from someone, we must protect her from whoever is pursuing her." "I will do everything I can to smurf our visitor an environment where she could feel safe from this predator, Empath," Tapper said. "Aye, and if he smurfs any harm to her, he's going to wish that he's never smurfed with a true Smurfsman, laddie," Duncan seconded. "Now if we can only find out who this mysterious pursuer is, we would be able to offer better protection for our guest," Polaris said. "Good luck doing that, you pale-faced fool," another voice broke in. Suddenly Avarice appeared before the four of them, briefly startling them. "Oh great, it's that troll again!" Duncan said in disgust. "That's imp, not troll, and the name is Avarice," the imp said, sounding offended. "I couldn't help but hear that you have a certain woodnymph in your village. I believe you know the name Flowerbell, is it not?" "Flowerbell? What is it to you if we knew who she was?" Empath asked. "I'm afraid that I haven't seen the woodnymph enter into the village, my friend," Tapper said. "Neither have I, but you're still not going to smurf your hands on her," Duncan said. "And how is it that you're going to stop me?" Avarice asked, sounding like he was being challenged. "I can appear anywhere in the village and just take her without you even knowing it, but I'd rather that she just give herself over to me. That would make things rather painless for you." "And if she refuses to give herself over to you, you would just take her?" Polaris asked. "Of course I can, but unfortunately I don't have the magic to take her to wherever it is I desire to go, which is to the cave where I have discovered the Treasure of the Ancient Trolls," Avarice answered. "And besides, she has to willingly give herself to me, for that's what the Spirit of the Ancient Trolls wants. I can't make her do what she doesn't want to do, nor will the spirit accept that when I offer her to it." "Well, that's not going to smurf you much good, if the lassie isn't going to give yourself to you so you can smurf what you want with that treasure," Duncan said. "You might as well forget it, Avarice, because if Flowerbell doesn't like you, there's no way you're going to get what you want even if we let you," Empath said. "She'll realize that I'm the best thing she's ever had, trust me," Avarice said proudly. "I'll just hang around here for a while until she does give herself over to me, and then you'll never see my face again, much less even hers." With that, he suddenly disappeared again. "I have a feeling that this Avarice isn't going to give up easily on Flowerbell, and is just going to remain here until she relents, my friends," Tapper said with some foreboding. "We're not going to let Avarice have his way with Flowerbell, Tapper," Empath said. "One way or another, he's going to leave the village empty-handed." Smurf to Part 4 Category:Empath the Luckiest Smurf stories Category:Flowerbell's Love Triangle chapters